Beny Alagem was a former Israeli tank driver and the founder of Packard Bell Electronics, a leading American computer manufacturer during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Packard Bell was the name of a manufacturer of televisions and radios in the United States for several decades in the 20th century, but the name largely disappeared from the marketplace after 1968. Hoping to cash in on old name recognition, Alagem bought the rights and launched a new company in 1986, selling inexpensive computers at retail much like Commodore president Jack Tramiel had earlier in the decade. In addition, his company became the first to offer toll-free technical support.
In the mid-1990s, Packard Bell lost market share as Compaq started to undercut its prices. Alagem merged his company with NEC in 1996, staying on as president of the division. Alagem suffered a heart attack in September 1997. A year later, amid continuing price pressure and mounting losses, Alagem left the company. Official statements cited health concerns, but Alagem later cited disagreements with investors and other executives.
In January 1999, Alagem tried to repeat history again, buying the rights to the AST Research name from Samsung. AST had been a Top 5 computer vendor in the early 1990s. However, Alagem, who planned to sell PCs direct and at retail, was unable to duplicate his earlier success in 1999's tougher market and by the summer of 2001, AST had once again disappeared from the market.
